I spent the weekend in a beach resort in Lobo, Batangas whose villas were nestled in a mountain thick with hard wood trees like molave and ligasong as well as tropical plants. It was a rejuvenating getaway from the traffic and pollution in the city. The sea breeze was refreshingly cold while the waves made sounds that induced one to relax and commune with himself, nature and the Divine Creator. As I looked at the vast sea which is Verde Island Passage I remembered how we—the people of this peaceful town—struggled months ago to stop mining. Had mining succeeded here, I would no longer be enjoying the fresh air now as dust from displaced earth would instead burden the air. And I would no longer be marveling at the richness of this marine paradise where dolphins and sea turtles are occasionally seen close to the shore. The Verde Island Passage has been cited as the center of the center of the world’s marine biodiversity. In the years past, I also spent much time in this very same beach cum mountain resort but back then I took it for granted what a blessing this idyllic nirvana was until we almost lost it to mining.
How we saved this unspoiled paradise from the destructive effects of mining was a story of how a people who did not use to really know each other banded together and fought for the common good. One personality who stood out in the struggle was Gina Lopez, now the secretary of the Environment department. Her crusade did not just consist of repelling mining in areas where severe destruction would result such as sites of biodiversity and human habitation but also in helping people learn alternative sources of living such as organic farming and food preservation. This, she did, to the municipality of Lobo, Batangas expecting nothing in return except the reward of knowing she has done something good.
As Environment secretary, Lopez zealously carried out an audit of all mining companies to determine who were committing environmental infractions, emphasizing that her department has adopted social justice and human development as “the filter and the fulcrum through which all decisions of the Environment department makes, pass.” Her commitment to social justice is non-negotiable, she says. Thus, despite facing strong lobby from the mining industry, preventing the confirmation of her appointment by Congress, she continues her crusade to preserve the environment for the common good. While she is committed to uplifting the Philippine economy, she said, we cannot build an economy based on suffering. Thus, she plans not to renew the fish pen permits in Laguna Lake as this has resulted in the pollution of the lake, the biggest body of fresh water in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia. The fish harvested from the lake may, after all, no longer be safe for human consumption because the lake has served as a catch basin for wastes and septage from 400,000 households surrounding it, she said. When the fish pens are gone, the lake can be dredged to clean it up and allow water to flow freely. Then individual fishermen can go fishing again and the site can be converted into an ecotourism zone, Lopez explained.
Recently, Lopez canceled the environmental compliance certificate of Century Properties which plans to develop a housing project on the La Mesa Watershed because the project would affect the water reservoir that serves 12-million people. This will obviously increase the lobby against her appointment by groups with business interest but Lopez said, business interest can never be more important than the water people drink. Clearly, Lopez has the vision and the political will to carry out her task effectively for the good of the Filipino people. Yet people take for granted that she can go on serving as secretary of environment, not realizing that they could lose her unless she eventually gets the confirmation by Congress.
People should make their representatives in Congress know that what they want and who they want to be confirmed in their posts should be supported by their elected representatives. This, after all, is the very essence of our democratic processes, that we elect our congressmen, congresswomen, as well as senators, to be our voices in that chamber, and not to represent their own selfish interest but ours.
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